The Garden and Pegausus
by Suki-Alanna
Summary: Lily Luna Potter and Rose Weasley have several conversations, all in the same garden. And all, in a roundabout way, about the same thing.


**Pairings/Characters: Lily Luna, Rose/Scorpius**

Lily's never been sure what to make of her cousin, Rose. Rose is the kind of girl that looks up and dreams.

"Why do you like the stars so much?" She asks her on night when Rose is eleven and she is nine.

"Because I want to go there one day. That's why I like them so much. I want to visit them and to maybe even stay, because Earth is so…" She never finishes her thought, but Lily doesn't care—she's nine, and Rose speaks of things she hasn't even considered.

"You're a witch. You have magic; why would you want to go there if you can stay right here?" Lily asks.

Rose smiles at the night sky. "There's so much more to life than magic."

"I don't believe you," Lily says, but somewhere in her heart she does. She believes there's more to life than that. "Love is magic."

"And there's more to life than just love. Are you going to wake up after Hogwarts and fall in love immediately?" Rose asks.

"Of course not. I'm already in love with Teddy," Lily pouts.

"No you aren't, Lily Luna. You don't even know what love is." Rose stands up and leaves, her cousin staring after her, wonder on her small, round face, because her cousin is what many would never dare to become.

Lily follows her out of the garden after a few moments, but stars dance in her head.

She's fifteen, and summer has barely started, but her boyfriend of two months has just broken up with her. She goes to the garden behind the Burrow and lies down, looking up at the night sky. A conversation took place here, she thinks, one I barely remember.

The gate swings open, and she glances over her shoulder at Rose. "Hello," she says.

"Hi," Rose responds. She doesn't ask if Lily is okay, a refreshing change from the rest of their family.

"What's up?" Lily asks.

"This is the best place to stargaze," Rose responds. "And I hear you can see Pegasus extra well tonight."

"Which one is that?" Lily asks.

Rose lies next to her and points out several stars. "Right there. Do you see it?"

"I think so," Lily says, biting a lip in concentration.

"Pegasus is from Greek mythology. The winged horse that Bellerophon fell off when he tried to fly to heaven. Pegasus made it, though, entering the stable of Zeus. Then h became Hercules' horse." Rose explains.

"I'd like to fly away on Pegasus," Lily replies. "It seems like it would be so much easier."

Rose's smile is grim. "Running doesn't help, not really."

"You mean when you ran away last summer? You seemed so alive when you came back, though," Lily says, her expression one of confusion.

"That doesn't mean it was easy, Lily. I had to support myself on my own, because I couldn't draw from my bank account without Dad and Uncle Harry being able to trace me. And when I came home, all of my problems were still here. I had just put them off and made them worse." She scowls.

"What problems did you have? I don't remember," Lily says, tracing another constellation.

"That's Scorpius," Rose says, pointing to the constellation Lily just spotted. "And, ironically, my problem was Scorpius Malfoy."

"What happened?" Lily asks.

"Bit curious, aren't you?" Rose asks, laughing a bit, but it isn't the usual bubbly sound. It's more grim, in a way.

"I never hear about your problems while you're having them. No one does. So it's second hand, later, or not at all that I find out." Lily explains. "Same with everyone else. You're good at keeping things to yourself."

Rose sits up a bit, leaning on one elbow. "Silly, then, isn't it? To tell you now, when I've kept it from you so well for almost a year."

"Rose!" Lily complains. "You have to tell me!"

"Alright. I'm in love with Scorpius Malfoy. Happy?" She begins to stand up, but Lily pulls her back down.

"No! I don't see how that's a problem!" Lily says.

"It's a problem because of his family, it's a problem because of my family, it's a problem because of who he is, and most of all, it's a problem because of who I am. Our families hate each other, Scorpius wants to settle down with a nice job, and me… well, I'm running away from life and towards the stars as fast as I can."

"So you're afraid to date him because it might not work out? Rose, you have a year left of school. I know he hounds you about it, so date him now and then if you decide it isn't working out run away." Lily says.

Rose shakes her head. "I wouldn't be able to break his heart like that."

"Yes, you would. You would, you would, you would, because if it just wasn't working out at least one of you would notice and end it. It would be all for the best. You could end it if it was for the best!" Lily sits up, staring into her cousins eyes, trying to make her understand. "You don't have to be afraid of love, Rose, because it's a wonderful thing."

Rose nods. "It can't hurt," she says, more to herself than Lily. "It can't hurt, so what do I have to lose?"

Lily grins in silent victory. In her head, she's imagining herself jumping up and down, pumping her fist and shouting "Yes!". "That's the spirit, Rose," she says aloud.

"I need to go talk to Scorpius," Rose says.

The next year Lily enters the garden at night, because no one can find Rose. The garden has become their secret over the years, and it's the best place to find her.

"Rose," she calls softly.

The redhead is lying in the grass in a pale green dress—hopefully the grass stains won't show up. "Yes, Lily?" She asks.

"Everyone's looking for you," she says.

"Is Scorpius here?" Rose asks.

"Yes," Lily says.

"I have a fiancé to get back to, then." Rose smiles, kissing Lily on the cheek. "Did you know you can see Pegasus well tonight?"

"No, but I do now," Lily says, watching the girl who makes just a little bit more sense leaving. "Don't run away this time. He won't like it."

Rose doesn't seem to hear, but Lily is certain she won't anyway.

**Written for the One Hour Challenge on HPFC. Thanks for the prompts, owluvr, but cousincest is a squick, so this is what you got. My prompts was garden, and my characters were Lily and Rose.**

**I don't own HP.**

**Happy summer, by the way! (If you live in the Northern Hemisphere) If not, happy winter!**


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